Teenage profits richly from his work by trading his hacked iPhone to a company for a new car and 3 new 8GB iPhones.

George Hotz, a 17 year old from Glen Rock, New Jersey,
hacked his way to internet fame and notoriety when he managed to unlock the iPhone
via a mix of soldering and software.

Several
groups have
unlocked the iPhone's previously AT&T
exclusive SIM card to work on the mostly compatible T-Mobile network, as
previously reported at DailyTech. The
groups have typically not revealed their techniques to the general public and
some have sought to use their knowledge to create
unlocking businesses. In contrast, Hotz’s hack was posted entirely free of
charge, in relatively easy to follow steps, on his blog. The steps do require
physically opening the phone, and a strong enough stomach to perform a few
small solders on a $500 to $600 piece of electronics.

Continuing an unsurprising trend of smart people being
rewarded for doing smart things -- even when those smart things are quasi-legal
-- the teenager has reaped a pirate's booty for his work. CNN reported that the teenager had
traded his unlock phone, complete with a signature faceplate to a Louisville,
Kentucky based cell-phone repair company for three new 8GB iPhones and a Nissan
350Z, which the article quotes George as describing as "sweet".

The teenager also landed himself a paid consulting job with
the company, CertiCell. He initially made the deal through Terry Daidone,
cofounder of CertiCell.

CertiCell is remaining mum about why exactly they want the
unlocked cell phone, though it is easy to speculate. Mr. Daidone released a
statement that,

"We do not have any plans on the table right now to
commercialize Mr. Hotz' discovery."

Whether a company would give $1,800 dollars in iPhones and a
car to a teenager as a congratulations gift and as an incentive for future good
work leaves one to wonder.

As mentioned, successful hackers have often been rewarded
handsomely. In honor of the teenager's success and hot new ride, it is
worthwhile to take a look back through time at stories of lucky hackers and
pirates getting rewarded, and the less fortunate famous hackers and pirates who
were busted, many as featured on DailyTech.

Successful hackers
and pirates include:

Former hacker and Wired
magazine editor, Kevin
Poulsen, who used a Perl script in 2007 to successfully identify 744
registered sex offenders, including a result which led to the arrest of a
predator.

Unnamed hacker, hired in 2007 by the MPAA to spy on
torrent sites, who after receiving his payment, turned double agent and
handed over information about his relationship with the organization to the
sued party, which launched a massive countersuit, quite possibly yielding more
money for the hacker.

"The
homeless hacker" Adrian Lamo who hacked Microsoft and the New York Times. He spent six months in
home confinement for his crimes and today is an award winning journalist and
public speaker, often writing or speaking about computer security.

Robert Tappan Morris, inventor of the computer
worm, founded and later sold what would become the Yahoo! Store. Morris is
currently working as a tenured professor at MIT

Shawn
"Napster" Fanning, creator of the landmark p2p program, Napster,
has since moved on to starting his own company and making a cameo appearance in
the movie "The Italian Job".

Less fortunate
hackers and pirates include:

Gary McKinnon, extradited
this year for $700,000 dollars in damages after hacking into Pentagon and
NASA computers in 2001 and 2002. Caught via his girlfriend's email address,
currently is facing up to 70 years in U.S. prison for "the biggest
military hack of all time".

These are only a few of
the famous stories of the hacker community. Whether George Hotz's deserves a place
among these talented individuals is questionable, but for now he can at least
enjoy the rewards of his work.

"It's okay. The scenarios aren't that clear. But it's good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that." -- Bill Gates on the Apple iPad